UK & World News

Wife Murderer Jailed For At Least 26 Years

A man who murdered his estranged wife by shooting her twice in the back after lying in wait outside her home has been jailed for at least 26 years.

Christopher Parry turned the gun on himself after carrying out the deadly attack in Newport, south Wales.

The 50-year-old survived, but suffered severe injuries in his failed suicide attempt.

At his trial, Parry admitted admitted manslaughter but claimed he had only intended to kill himself in front of his wife, Caroline.

But a jury convicted him of murder by a majority of 10-1.

The trial judge said Parry's actions had deprived his ex-wife of her life and their two children of their mother.

"You brought grief and unhappiness to very many people....your own life is in ruins," Mr Justice Wyn Williams said.

The court heard despite having a history of mental illness stretching back more than 10 years, he had a shotgun licence and kept three firearms at his home.

Mrs Parry had moved out of the home she shared with her husband of 27 years after telling him their marriage was over in April last year, as she could no longer cope with his "controlling and dominant" ways.

But Parry refused to accept this and was convinced she still had feelings for him.

The jury heard the defendant kept his wife "under surveillance" and was described by prosecuting counsel Michael Mather-Lees QC as a man "not prepared to let go".

In the weeks leading up to the shooting, he repeatedly texted, phoned and followed his wife. The day before the killing, Parry booked two days off work.

After shooting his wife on August 8 last year, Parry put the shotgun under his jaw and pulled the trigger.

Neighbours found the couple's bloodied bodies lying side next to each other on the road.

Mrs Parry was pronounced dead at the Royal Gwent Hospital.

Mr Justice Williams said he accepted that Parry had suffered a "significant depressive illness" in the wake of his wife leaving him.